Left: whenever like here Team New Zealand could get her long, cranked light-air foils on, which was most of the time, she was not only faster and deeper downwind than Oracle but almost always higher upwind as well. To reduce drag at higher speed the ‘big’ ETNZ foils appeared to feature finer sections than anything seen in other camps; explaining why out of range in more pressure the Kiwi boat suffered less than Oracle in the same situation. The success of less forgiving foils all depended on developing smoother, more progressive control systems than other teams… all built upon the very steady power delivery of the cyclists. Committing to pedals early – as others openly dismissed the idea – was key to an ultimately spectacular hydro-aero racing package. Above: the most obvious result – Pete Burling had a better AC35 than Jimmy Spithill
After the first four races Spithill, who
enjoys dominating the psychological war- fare of the media conferences, was a worried man. ‘These guys are faster,’ he admitted. ‘We need to make serious changes. We need to put everything back on the table. Nothing will escape our eyes, whether it is systems, appendages, sailing technique, strategy – we will look at everything.’ Having been dismissive of ETNZ’s
package before, he now admitted: ‘Some- times you learn the most by looking over the fence at your competitors.’ At that point in proceedings match racer
Artemis skipper Nathan Outteridge was
also rubbing it in. ‘We wouldn’t change the way we are tackling starts. We have won six from six.’ The ever understated Burling confessed he would prefer to be coming off the startline ahead. ‘We are learning a lot about coming from behind,’ he said. But crossing the line that scores the
points at the finish of the race was not giv- ing the New Zealanders as much trouble, which might have sent a warning that there was nothing wrong with their boatspeed. In the Louis Vuitton Cup final Sweden
led at the first mark six times out of seven, but New Zealand won the series 5-2. Behind the scenes Ray Davies and
Murray Jones were constantly coaching Burling on his start techniques. By the time he comprehensively trapped Spithill in the eighth and penultimate race of the Match New Zealand had led around the first mark 6.5 times, with one rounding split. On the final race of the event Spithill led
around the first mark by three seconds, but NZL moved into the lead on the first gybe of the run and held it to the finish.
Chris Steele, running analysis for New Zealand TV audiences, commented: ‘Pete Burling’s conversion rate in the starting box is one of the most staggering develop- ments of this Cup final – and a key reason why Spithill now seems spooked.’ With the schedule focused on weekend
audiences, both live and on TV, the two combatants had a five-day break. As they disappeared into their respective sheds Spithill declared, ‘The next five days will be the most important of the campaign.’ For Oracle this break was a godsend, an
opportunity to bring their much vaunted resources to bear and perform miracles. Spithill was banging the comeback drum for all it was worth. For New Zealand fans it was five days of hell and feverish paranoia. If a single lay day had launched Oracle’s relentless march to victory from 8-1 down in 2013, what could they do in five days? When racing resumed on the second
Saturday Oracle had stripped weight out of their boat and modified their foils and rudders. They were unquestionably faster and more competitive, but Spithill admit- ted the boat was more difficult to sail. They had traded stability for speed. ‘Speed never comes for free,’ he said.
By Monday afternoon it was over. The
overall statistics from the nine races of the Match tell the story. New Zealand were faster in every area: by 0.61kt upwind, 0.43 in upwind VMG, 0.71 downwind, 0.85 downwind VMG, 0.65 in average speed, and they sailed an average of 140m less than Oracle in every race. The age-old wisdom that in the Amer-
ica’s Cup the fastest boat always wins still holds true. At the end Spithill was extremely gracious in summing it up: ‘What a campaign those guys ran. I don’t see any weaknesses. We thought maybe down there in New Zealand alone they would hurt from a practice standpoint. ‘As a fellow athlete and competitor all
you can do is pay respect. It was an impres- sive effort and the better team won.’
AS GOOD AS IT GETS It was, as they say, a match made in sailing heaven. After the extraordinary events of San Francisco 2013 the sporting gods surely would have ordained nothing less than a re-match between Emirates Team New Zealand and Oracle. Four years ago the two heavyweights
slugged it out for 19 rounds and Oracle held fans spellbound with their unlikely triumph from 8-1 down. In the wake of glory and heartbreak under the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge, it felt totally appropriate for them to meet again on Bermuda’s Great Sound in 2017. New Zealand, crushed by the San Fran-
cisco result, had cleaned house and rebuilt the team around a talented group of young sailors – a new generation blooded in the cauldron of Olympic competition and hotwired for high-performance foiling and apparent wind sailing. As hostilities commenced in Bermuda
SEAHORSE 33
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INGRID ABERY
DANIEL FORSTER
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